Silo roof construction



Sept. 26, 1950 E. c. LINDEMEIER SILO ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 26, 1948 jizz/eiziar Patented Sept. 26, 1950' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,523,381 SIIJO aoo'r CONSTRUCTION Ernest CY. Lindemeier, Norwood, Minn.

Application January 26, 1948, Serial No. 4,380

' 3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to silo roof construction and provides means whereby a silo may be filled with ensilage or the like through the roof without the necessity of getting onto the roof after it has once been constructed in accordance with my invention.

Heretofore, it has been common practice in the filling of a silo with ensilage to climb up the side thereof to the roof, remove a hatch from an opening in the roof, and to guide the downturned upper end of the filler tube (leading from an ensilage cutter) into the opening. This operation must be done periodically at least once every year. Obviously, this operation is extremely hazardous and takes a toll of a large number of casualties annually.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of means which may be permanently secured to a silo roof when it is originally put in position, or which may be secured as an attachment thereafter, but which, in either event, will make it possible to fill a silo with ensilage without the necessity of getting up onto the silo roof.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class immediately above described which is inexpensive to construct, easy to attach, and which is durable in use.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class above described which will rpositively not become clogged.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a device of the class immediately above described which will assure even distribution into the silo of the silage conveyed therethrough.

Another object of my invention is the provision of such a device which will not weaken the roof structure and will not cause the roof to leak.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in vertical axial section;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a circular wall of a silo to which a silo roof, identified in its entirety by the numeral 2, has been secured. As

2 will be observed, the roof 2 is, preferably and as shown, comprised of segmental dome-forming sections 3 which are secured together at their adjacent flanged edges 4 by any suitable means such as rivets or the like 5. The roof 2 may be secured to the top of the silo wall by any conventional means such as the annular clamping band 6. The upper ends of the several segmental sections 3 are secured to an annular ring 7 which defines an opening 8, which is shown as being covered by a closure in the natureof a removable hatch 9.

Up to this point, I have described a typical commercially-produced silo roof construction. To fill such a silo with ensilage, it is necessary to climb up a ladder on the side thereof and my loose the hatch 9 to insert the downturned end of the long tubular ensilage conveyer into the openingfl. As above pointed out, this operation is extremely hazardous for obvious reasons.

meral Ill and comprising a deflecting wall H and spacedside walls l2. As shown, the walls It and l2 of the guideway are formed integrally with'the section 311. However, in the event that my novel construction should be adapted to a silo roof already erected, it is but necessary to cut an elongated radially-extended slot in one of the segments 3 and thereafter cover the same with the guideway ill. In this event, the side walls of the guideway will be provided with flashings or flanges which may be secured to the roof 2 in a conventional manner. In either event, the opening or slot in the roof is of substantially the same width as the guideway l0 and extends from the upper central region of the roof 2, preferably adjacent the central opening 8 to substantially the outer edge thereof. The side edges of the guideway are shaped to conform to the contours of the silo roof for the greater part of their length.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will beobserved that, adjacent the upper edge of the segment 3a, the guideway I0 is formed with a horizontal portion !3 which extends into and is contained within the confines of the silo roof immediately below-the central hatch 9, and terminates ina downturned delivery end portion I4 coaxial with the silo l. The delivery portion l4 may direct material into the conventional central funnel-equipped chute l5, if desired.

At its lower end, the guideway 10 is provided with a tubular inlet I6 which is preferably circular in cross section so as to telescopically receive a cross-sectionally circular ensilage conveyer IT. The conveyer I1, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, is attached to a conventional blower or the like 18. The blower and conveyer construction is well known and the detailed description thereof is thought not to be necessary here. It will be observed that the tubular inlet I6 terminates outside of the roof 2 adjacent the upper edge of the wall I and has an axis which is substantially parallel to said wall I.

It should be obvious from the above that to fill a silo roof incorporating my novel invention, it is but necessary to telescopically fit the filler pipe I! into the inlet 16. This maybe done either from the ground or from a ladder on the It is important to-note comes clogged, material will fall to the interior of the silo from the open bottom of the guideway Ensilage, as a rule, is made up of the heavy stock portions of corn or the like as well as the lighter leaf portions. One of the outstanding objectionable features of portable guideways I0 is the fact that it is not always possible or expedient to guide the extreme end thereof so that the silage will be directed axially downwardly with respect to the silo. The result is that the -.heavy stock .portions of the silage are separated from the light leaf portions thereof. This separation of the two parts of the silage frequently causes spoilage. wherein the guideway I0 is rigidly secured to the silo roof proper so as to deliver the silage axially of the silo, the chances of separation of the heavy from the lighter portions of the silage is obviated.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the ac' complishment of the above objects;- and while It is obvious that, in my novel device,

4 I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be obvious that the same is capable of some modification without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. What I claim is: 1. An attachment for silo roofs comprising a longitudinally arcuate cross-sectionally inverted.

tubular inlet portion laterally adjacent the lower outside edge of said roof and adapted to receive the delivery end of an ensilage conveyor tube.

2. An attachment for dome-shaped silo roofs, said attachment comprising a longitudinally arcuate cross-sectionally inverted U-shaped open bottom guideway adapted to overlie and enclose a slotted opening in said roof, said slotted opening extending from the upper central region thereof to substantially the outer edge thereof, the side edges of said guideway being shaped to conform to the contour of the silo roof for a greater part of its length, means adapted to connect the side edges of said guideway to said roof, said guideway terminating at its upper end in a downturned delivery end portion under the central portion of the silo roof, and terminating at its lower end in a tubular inlet exterior of the roof.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 in which the upper end of the guideway is substantially coaxial with the silo and in which the lower end of said guideway has an axis which is substantially parallel to the side wall of the silo.

ERNEST C. LINDEMEIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Italy Dec. 11, 1930 

